The Beta

XII

*Rian*

While Faye probably thought our second encounter in the grocery store was by chance, I knew it was my anima acting up, always drawing me to her. Her mouth fell open as our eyes met. A blush washed over her cheeks.

"Hey, Rian," she said nervously. "What a coincidence."

I nodded at her friends, both of whom looked curious. "Maybe this is just going to be a common occurrence between us."

"Maybe." Faye tucked her hair behind her ear. "Shopping for Thea again?"

"No, thankfully," I remarked with a chuckle. "Thea's boyfriend and I are watching the football game tonight, so I'm picking up some game snacks."

Her gaze flickered to the bags of pretzels and potato chips in my cart, a smile easing onto her lips. "Sounds like fun."

"Should be. Are you ladies having a sleepover?"

"Mhmm," the girl with the dark skin responded with a smirk. "You're welcome to join us after the game."

"Rhonda!" Faye gasped. The way her hazel eyes widened was so cute.

"I'm just joking," Rhonda quipped. "No boys allowed. Sorry, dude."

Shaking my head, I held my hands up in peace. "Completely understandable."

"Well," Faye declared, clearly trying to end the conversation, "it was nice to see you again, Rian. I hope you have fun with Thea's boyfriend."

"Enjoy your sleepover." I smiled.

She blushed again before hurrying along to get away from me. We would be together soon. I could feel it in my chest and heart, how close we were.

Though I checked out before Faye, I waited in my car to make sure she and her friends reached their vehicle safely. Seeing her smile brought warmth to me, a happiness I'd never felt before. Times like this reminded me of Faye's innocence and normalcy. I was glad she didn't know about wolves. Her simple life kept her happy.

Could I take that away from her? My heart thudded violently in protest. We were animas; fate had decided we would be together. Yet how could I maintain a normal life to keep her happy when my wolf struggles continued to plague me?

Of all the women in the world, my anima just had to be Faye Derby, a human.

+++

The sounds of blaring whistles and a roaring crowd met my ears before I even walked through the front door. Dave was perched on the edge of Thea's leather couch as I entered the living room, arms full of grocery bags.

"It already started?" I asked. "How long was I gone?"

"Long enough. I told you I would go." He didn't take his eyes off the flat screen.

"No, it's fine. I'm not much of a fan myself."

Now Dave looked up at me. "What? You don't like football?"

I assumed Thea hadn't told him about how I was a wolf, so my typical Monday nights weren't spent in front of a television to watch sports.

"I've never really been into sports," I explained. Not a lie, but not the direct truth.

"Thea made it sound like you played on your high school team." Dave quirked an eyebrow and studied me, suspicious. "You look more like the baseball type."

Oh, great. Let's not discuss the differences between America's favorite sports teams. I sighed.

"I played as a kid, but nothing competitive," I fibbed. Thea would pay for that lie. "I'm not much of an athlete. I just run."

That was a subject Dave could care less about, so he grunted and turned back to the television. I opened a bag of potato chips. The salty smell brought a grin to my lips, reminding me of the all years I had spent hunting my meals instead of buying them at the grocery store.

I stuffed a handful of the chips in my mouth. So maybe being human did have some perks.